Yard MD blog: The good, the bad and the ugly

Native Golden Alexander is often mistaken for invasive wild parsnip, which has somewhat similar, yellowish-green flowers. Make an effort to be able to distinguish the two in order to protect native plants of our area from needless persecution. ROB ZIMMER/Post-Crescent Media.
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Rob Zimmer/Post-Crescent Media
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As Invasive Species Awareness Month continues, today, I take a look at a confusing group of loosely related plants that are among the most confusing of all invasive, as well as native species in our area.

Parsnips, as well as their look-alikes, all members of the carrot family, present an identification challenge to many outdoor lovers and even professional naturalists.

Two of these species are extremely dangerous, even toxic. The other two are relatively benign, native plants that deserve a place in our natural landscapes. Telling them apart, unfortunately, takes some practice.

Two of these plants bloom with yellow flowers, while the other two bloom in white. All feature flat, umbels or clusters of flowers that form a circular pattern at the tip of the stock, similar to Queen Anne’s lace, or wild carrot.

Let’s start with the yellow bloomers.

The yellow plants include native, harmless Golden Alexander, a prairie and wetland native that blooms during middle to late spring in our area.

Also blooming in yellow, the extremely dangerous, invasive wild parsnip. Upon closer inspection, the flowers of wild parsnip differ greatly from the dainty, lacy flowers of Golden Alexander. They also feature large, celery like seeds.

Wild parsnips also boom several weeks later, from early to midsummer and beyond.

Because native Golden Alexander is quite similar in appearance, this important plant is often mistaken for wild parsnip and destroyed unnecessarily. Golden Alexander is important for early pollinators, as well as a host plant for the beautiful black swallowtail butterfly.

Wild parsnip is dangerous because it’s juices and leaves cause a severe rash, even burning, upon exposure to the skin and ultraviolet light.

No immediate reaction is felt or experienced, however, as ultraviolet light comes into contact with the juices on exposed skin, blistering, burning and rash will begin to appear. This may take 24-48 hours to show itself, making it hard for the infected person to recall just what caused the reaction.

Ultraviolet light is present even on cloudy days, so direct sunlight is not required to cause a reaction. The burning can be so severe as to leave a permanent scar.

Wild parsnip is becoming common in upland, dryer areas, roadsides and waste places where it quickly spreads by profuse seeds.

The leaves of each of these plants are also quite different. The leaves of wild parsnip resemble one of its close relatives, celery, while the leaves of Golden Alexander are more lacy, come in bunches of three, and are branched.